Three people were killed and four others were wounded when gunfire tore through a crowded Seattle food festival Sunday evening, sending families scrambling for cover near the city’s iconic Space Needle.
The shooting erupted around 6 p.m. at Seattle Center, where thousands had gathered for the Bite of Seattle, one of the city’s signature summer events.
Two men, ages 19 and 44, died at the scene, according to authorities.
A 56-year-old woman later died after being rushed to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.
Four others were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man and two women, ages 39 and 40, officials said.
The wounded were listed in stable condition.
Witness Michael Girardi told the Seattle Times the injured toddler appeared conscious while paramedics treated him.
“The mother [was] in anguish,” he told the Seattle Times.
Police believe two people may have been shooting at each other in the packed festival crowd.
One suspect was taken into custody, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced about three hours after the gunfire.
Seattle police Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis said at a late-night news conference that a second suspect remained at large.
The suspect in custody was taken to Seattle Police Headquarters for questioning.
Photos from the scene showed a heavyset, scruffy-haired person being led away in handcuffs as officers stood nearby with guns drawn.
Witnesses described panic as festivalgoers trampled over each other trying to flee.
Food festival attendee Estan Wakonabo, 25, told the Seattle Times that crowds rushed for safety after shots rang out.
“It was just pure chaos,” he said.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” he told the Associated Press.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter.
Wakonabo said he returned to the scene to take photos and saw multiple gunshot victims on the ground, including a body covered with a yellow sheet.
Vendor Roberto Ramirez said he first thought the noise sounded like firecrackers before the crowd realized what was happening.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
A livestream from food vendor Hawaiian Honey Cones captured the terrifying moment bullets rang out.
“Shooting, shooting!” someone yelled as one blast sounded off, causing vendor Christopher Monterroso to turn toward the fleeing crowd while still holding a honey cone.
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“Shooting, oh sh-t. Oh sh-t right here,” Monterroso said as he screamed at staff to get down.
Video showed people jumping from behind a barricade and grabbing loved ones’ hands as they ran from the gunfire.
Dominique Campbell, who drove from Los Angeles to sell his clothing brand “Soup” at the festival, said one wounded person made it to his booth.
“One of the people who got hit made it to my booth,” he told the Times.
BREAKING — Two people were killed and five injured in a shooting at Seattle Center on Sunday evening, during the Bite of Seattle food festival — one of the city’s largest events, held a block from the Space Needle.
Per the Seattle Fire Department: paramedics attempted… pic.twitter.com/ymULmzEglU
—
The Informant (@theinformant_x) July 27, 2026
“I grabbed a T-shirt and wrapped her leg and just put pressure on it.”
Campbell said the woman did not realize she had been shot.
“She kept asking what happened,” he said.
Chase Hutchinson was near the SIFF Film Center, about 0.2 miles away, when the shots rang out.
“Immediately I knew what it was,” he said.
“I took a second for people to start running. There was this kind of surreal moment of ‘what happened?’ It all happened really, really fast.”
Patrons inside the Pacific Science Center’s IMAX theater were evacuated as police secured the area.
“Come out with your hands up,” a cop told guests, according to Sean Swanson, who was inside the room.
Swanson said he initially thought the order was meant for a suspect before realizing police were addressing those inside the theater.
Davis appealed to witnesses to help police identify the second suspect and piece together what happened.
“They’re not coming forward.”
“We need your help,” the cop begged.
“We can’t solve this without help from our community.”
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said he was “horrified” by the bloodshed at one of Seattle’s best-known summer traditions.
“For years the Bite has been one of Seattle’s signature summer traditions,” he said.
“To see violence at a place that brings so many people together is heartbreaking and unacceptable.
“My heart is with the victims and their loved ones, those who were senselessly injured.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said his “prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe.”
The shooting turned a family food festival into another grim scene in a Democrat-run city where residents have grown tired of being told everything is fine while crime keeps finding new places to explode.
Seattle Center should have been packed with food vendors, kids, music and summer crowds.
Instead, families were ducking bullets, parents were shielding children and a toddler ended up in a hospital.
Police are still investigating what sparked the gunfire and have not released the names of the dead.
But the images from Sunday night already told the story.
In one of America’s bluest cities, another public space became a crime scene.
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